Were photos of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's legs and shoes at a campaign event in 2008 that appeared to show young men looking up her skirt an example of liberal media bias or a forgivable mistake? "Hell yeah, it's media bias," Palin told Fox News Channel host Megyn Kelly in an interview Thursday. Palin went on to say, "and it's also some sexism when you consider what the response to Mitt Romney's photo is -- which is degrading."
The former Alaska governor was referring to an Associated Press photo released earlier this week that showed Republican presidential Mitt Romney bending over while a seemingly astonished schoolgirl gawked at him from behind. The AP issued a mea culpa for the photo Wednesday after being criticized over its release.
Palin went on to slam the news agency for the Romney photo, saying, the "Associated Press -- they're jerks for having run that even with the caption. I mean absolute jerks and biased to have tried to taint some people's view of Mitt Romney by running this photo. It's embarrassing.
"But when you consider people's responses to what this picture is, I don't remember a whole lot of people getting too wee wee-ed up about the photos that were run of me four years ago, including the young men that looked like they were looking up legs or up my skirt, even.
"Last night even on Bill O'Reilly, I saw that he did a piece on this segment. I don't know if he did a piece on that when it happened to me or maybe some other women over the years, so I think that it's still kind of still a tell-tale sign of some little bit of sexism in our society, that we really need to overcome so that we can all move forward."
The most egregious photo of Palin's legs and shoes in 2008 came from Reuters photographer Carlos Barria. Reuters ran this caption with the photo: "A supporter listens to Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during a rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, October 8, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Barria."
A similar photo from the Associated Press ran with this caption: "Supporters listen to Republican vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, legs visible, during a rally with Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not visible, in Bethlehem, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)."
Will Reuters and AP apologize for the photos of Palin’s legs?
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.